Effective civil disobedience should be directed at the oppressing institution, not bystanders.

And the protesters must cultivate allies outside their group whose sympathy can help their cause.

Miami's Cuban exile community has done neither -- and now finds itself increasingly isolated on the issue and drawing growing hostility.

Protest leaders seem clueless about a reality that's obvious to everyone else: You don't convert others to your cause by annoying them.

The exiles did draw attention to their cause by blocking traffic and defying police, leading to the arrest of more than 130. The tactics generated news coverage around the world.

But it generated no sympathy for the exile cause. That's because there is nothing heroic about civil disobedience aimed at uninvolved parties.

Rosa Parks defied segregationist authorities when she refused to surrender her seat on a bus to a white man. Black civil rights demonstrators refused to leave the very lunch counters where they were denied service. Vietnam War protesters handcuffed themselves to the gates of the White House. Environmentalists take up positions in front of bulldozers.

What sense did it make for the exiles to make Miami motorists the targets of their civil disobedience? They aren't responsible for Fidel Castro's government, Juan Miguel Gonzalez's demand that his son be returned to him in Cuba nor the decision by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to comply.

Raising a person's ire isn't the same as raising that individual's consciousness.

Also, the Cuban community's inability -- or lack of desire -- to build bridges of understanding and respect with non-Cubans has come back to haunt it with regard to Elian.

Since emerging as a significant presence here, Cubans have not particularly needed allies. They've prospered, placing their cultural and political stamp on Miami-Dade County largely by using their own resources and determination.

In addition, many have set the bar of friendship too high for most non-Cubans to reach.

For many Cubans, especially older ones, the day begins and ends with hatred for Castro. Few non-Cubans can match that level of passion regarding Cuba, nor are they likely to hold the same priority.

The result: many older Cubans view non-Cubans as irrelevant to their lives, if not as obstacles to the mission of deposing Castro.

None of that prevented them from gaining considerable power within Miami-Dade, and disproportionate influence in Washington. On Friday, U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., acquiesced to exile wishes and subpoenaed Elian, a move designed to prevent his immediate deportation.

But inevitably, there comes a day when any community needs support from outside -- from ethnic and cultural communities that don't share its history and passions.

Elian Gonzalez's future is such an issue.

Cuban Miami has not been able to control Elian's fate by sheer will. The community is too small on a national scale. Also, the number of non-Cubans who have strong feelings about Castro pales against the number who value family unity -- and thus are arrayed against those exiles who believe Castro is a good reason to keep Elian from his father.

In this instance, Cuban Americans need much broader public support and sympathy to make their case.

But the support isn't there. And this week's disruptions have all but guaranteed that it isn't forthcoming.